The nebulizer atomizes a liquid such as a medical solution that cures diseases such as a bronchus, water, and saline water to produce the aerosol. The aerosol produced by the nebulizer is inhaled from a mouth or a nose by the user and taken into a body. Recently, in one of new methods for utilizing the nebulizer, a vaccine for preventing measles is aerosolized with the nebulizer, and the aerosolized vaccine is administered to the body through the mouth or nose of the user.
Usually the inhalation aid is attached to the nebulizer in order to facilitate the inhalation of the aerosol. A flow passage is provided in the inhalation aid in order to convey the aerosol, the inhalation aid is attached to the nebulizer body in the usage of the nebulizer, and the user inhales the aerosol through the inhalation aid.
There are various types of inhalation aids. The types of the inhalation aids are roughly classified into a mouthpiece, a nosepiece, a mask, and a relay pipe. The mouthpiece is used such that the user holds the mouthpiece in user's mouth to inhale the aerosol from the mouth. The nosepiece is used such that the user places the nosepiece in a nostril to inhale the aerosol. As to the mask, the user puts the mask so as to cover the mouth and nose therewith and inhales the aerosol from the mouth and nose. The relay pipe is used to relay the mouthpiece, the nosepiece, the mask, and the like and an aerosol lead-out port of the nebulizer body if needed. The optimum inhalation aid is appropriately selected and used according to a kind of the inhaled liquid or the user who inhales the liquid.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-126255 (Patent Document 1), Published Japanese Translation of PCT application No. 7-503633 (Patent Document 2), and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-97830 (Patent Document 3) can be cited as examples of the documents that disclose the nebulizers including various types of the inhalation aids.
When the nebulizer is used in the administration of the vaccine, a combination of the mask and the relay pipe is suitably selected as the inhalation aid based on a usage environment, a usage condition, and the like. This is because usually the administration of vaccine is targeted in mass immunization. That is, in the usage environment in which many users use the nebulizer one after another for a short time, from the hygiene standpoint, particularly from the standpoint of prevention of secondary infection through the inhalation aid (a user is infected with a certain pathogen from another user infected with the pathogen through the inhalation aid), preferably the inhalation aid is formed by the combination of the disposable type mask and the relay pipe that connects the disposable type mask to the nebulizer body. Therefore, the vaccine can be administered while the disposable type mask is replaced and connected to the relay pipe in each time of the usage, generation of the secondary infection can effectively be prevented, and the nebulizer becomes excellent in handling convenience and economic efficiency.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-126255    [Patent Document 2] Published Japanese Translation of PCT application No. 7-503633    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-97830